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oving God hear our prayers this day. Lord, I think You may have noticed, there has been some sinning in our world in recent weeks. But, Lord, we admit these are not just new sins, but, replayed sins that are intertwined in the history of this country. Some people have given up trying to untangle this mess. Give us eyes to see the tangled mess we, who call You Lord, have created. Forgive our blindness, heal those we have injured. Lead us to untangle and set aside the sins of prejudice and racism. I pray for a new kind of freedom that joyfully dissolves those sins that hold us. Help us eliminate these heart breaking, un-Christian, un-American, un-healthy sins, that are also no longer un-deniable. I am thankful Lord, even in the midst of heartache and pain, that You have inspired all who are praying across this land, for forgiveness, for strength to accelerate change, that Your color-filled kingdom will come, and that finally Your will be done, in this country and around the world. Lord protect us, from those who would do us harm. But, at the same time, strengthen us to not lose hope in Your power to bring Your spiritual healing to a weary land. Open our eyes to the many hope-filled things You are doing in all our lives. In my pain and sorrow, Lord, You force me to remember the words of Pete Seeger, “when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?� God, descend into our broken hearts and give us a new spirit of change. Teach us Your ways and give us the skill to stop repeating the sins of those who have gone before us. Guide us to become a new community of believers. Lord with our pain and heart break, this day also gives us hope, that what we may choose to act individually, or we can choose to act collectively. But the choice not to act, not to follow Your leadings, not to follow Your word and Your Spirit, is the sin-filled path we will not accept. And Jesus, the hardest prayer for me to offer, is this: Teach me again to pray for those who would do harm to anyone of us, create in them and in us a new heart and a new spirit that reflects more brilliantly Your love to all Your children in this damaged world. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. -Gil Hanke, Antioch, Tenn.
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